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I am currently reaping the benefits of a tried and true technique of preventing an imminent cold and I wanted to share it with y'all.
For some background, two days ago I felt a little tickle in the back of my throat. I didn't have a fever, chills, or any other symptoms that would suggest I would be sick. However, I knew that I couldn't be too careful when it came to stopping a cold.
The second I felt that itch, I got myself a glass of warm water, dumped a bunch of salt into it, mixed it up, and gargled the entire glass.
Salt water has miraculous healing qualities. When I gargle salt water at the first sign of trouble, without fail I am much better for it the next day. When it's a simple cold, as was the case two days ago, my throat feels completely fine the next day. Even when I'm sick with something more serious that I can't stop, gargling salt water from the first signs of issues right through to the end of the sickness alleviates much of the pain and irritation that comes with a sore throat.
The next day my throat felt fine but I did feel a little heaviness behind my eyes and a tiredness setting into my body. I knew that at this point that if I didn't deal with these symptoms ASAP, I was going to experience a full blown fever that night.
It was at this point that I took some Advil and slept for most of the day. Thankfully it was the weekend so I could, but even on a weekday, in these situations I make a concerted effort to sleep extra early.
It's pretty obvious to everyone that rest is a key part of healing, but sometimes we undervalue how important it really is. The Advil helps me get the rest I need by treating the tiredness in my body.
By the time I woke up today, I felt nearly 100%.
The neti pot brings the entire process together. If you haven't heard of a neti pot, it's a pot with an extended spout that allows you to pour water in through one nostril that then travels through your sinuses and out through the other.
We Indians have been using neti pots for centuries if not longer, so it's a go-to for us when we have congestion. If you've never used one, essentially what it does is it washed out your sinuses of built up mucus. I fill the pot with warm salt water and use the neti pot until the water travels unimpeded from one notril through the other.
I usually couple the use of the neti pot with gargling salt water, however I didn't really feel much congestion. Nevertheless, I still used it today to clear any remnants of the botched cold.
As I sit here writing this post I can confidently state that I actively prevented the onset of what would have been a really annoying cold. And seriously, if you've never used/heard of a neti pot, I definitely recommend looking into it.